BEHEADING Plot UNCOVERED — Federal Agents Targeted

Person in hoodie using laptop, surrounded by digital code.

An 18-year-old from Oregon stands accused of a chilling plot to behead federal immigration agents as recruitment trophies for a separatist nation he planned to establish on tribal land.

Story Snapshot

Rayden Tanner Coleman arrested after allegedly planning to kill ICE agents in Portland and display their severed heads as “trophies” to recruit followers
Police discovered weapons, tactical gear, and materials for Molotov cocktails during a high-risk traffic stop at his workplace on February 4, 2026
Coleman faces 13 criminal counts including unlawful manufacture of destructive devices and attempted assault, with bail set at $400,000
The plot aimed to establish a separatist nation called the Cascadia Rangers Coalition on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation
Roommates who reported his Discord threats to police may have prevented multiple murders of federal officers

When Discord Chatter Turned Deadly Serious

Rayden Tanner Coleman’s roommates initially brushed off his online rants about killing federal agents as angry venting. They tried reasoning with the St. Helens teenager, hoping his fury would cool. Instead, Coleman began bringing knives into their shared apartment. The Discord messages escalated from abstract threats to tactical planning, complete with discussions of night vision goggles, camouflage patterns, and following ICE agents to their homes. When one roommate handed over glass bottles, assuming Coleman was joking about making weapons, the reality crystallized: this was no longer angry rhetoric. The roommates contacted police.

An Arsenal Built for Political Violence

Coleman methodically assembled the tools of assassination. Court documents reveal he acquired tactical axes, a U.S. Army knife, and multiple shovels. He arranged delivery of an AR rifle and collected glass bottles, filling six with sand for weight testing before purchasing hand sanitizer to create incendiary devices. St. Helens Police executed a high-risk traffic stop at Avamere Assisted Living, where Coleman worked, on February 4. Officers discovered bottles and surveillance equipment in his vehicle trunk. During a Miranda-advised interview, Coleman admitted planning attacks but attempted to minimize the beheading threats as statements made “out of anger” rather than genuine intent.

The Cascadia Dream and Tribal Recruitment

Coleman envisioned something beyond simple revenge against immigration enforcement. His manifesto outlined plans for the Cascadia Rangers Coalition, a new nation he intended to establish using the Warm Springs Indian Reservation as a base. The beheadings served a calculated purpose in his scheme: displaying severed heads of ICE agents as trophies would prove his commitment and attract followers to his separatist cause. This twisted recruitment strategy borrowed from terrorist playbook tactics while grafting them onto Pacific Northwest independence movements that have periodically surfaced in the region. The Warm Springs community, never consulted, became an unwitting pawn in Coleman’s violent fantasy of sovereignty.

Anti-Federal Rage in the Portland Corridor

Coleman’s rage did not materialize in a vacuum. The Portland area has witnessed sustained tensions around ICE enforcement, including protests at federal facilities where officers deployed gas against demonstrators. Court documents cite Coleman’s anger over “high-profile incidents involving ICE and other federal officers,” including an incident where agents shattered a Salem woman’s car window during an enforcement action. These events fermented into something far darker in Coleman’s mind: a justification for premeditated murder. His plot targeted not just ICE agents but also a security guard’s father, expanding the circle of intended victims beyond those directly involved in immigration enforcement.

Legal Reckoning and Unanswered Questions

Coleman appeared for arraignment on February 6, facing six counts of unlawful manufacture of destructive devices, six counts of unlawful possession, and one count of attempted second-degree assault. The judge set bail at $400,000. A pretrial release hearing was scheduled for February 11, with trial set for March 31. Coleman’s partial admissions create a peculiar legal landscape. He acknowledged elements of the plot while claiming the most graphic violence was merely angry talk. This defense strategy may prove difficult given the physical evidence: weapons, incendiary device components, and surveillance equipment suggest planning that transcended mere venting. Federal prosecutors may yet file additional charges given the targeting of federal officers.

When Roommates Become Lifesavers

The roommates who reported Coleman deserve recognition for preventing what could have been a massacre of federal employees and their families. They faced a difficult choice: loyalty to someone they lived with versus protecting potential victims they would never meet. Their decision to contact authorities when Coleman’s behavior crossed from disturbing to dangerous demonstrates civic courage. One roommate’s admission that he provided bottles thinking it was a joke highlights how domestic terrorists can manipulate those around them, exploiting assumptions that nobody would actually carry out such extreme violence. The roommates’ intervention reminds us that preventing political violence often depends on ordinary citizens recognizing warning signs and acting despite personal discomfort.